Apocalyptic
by Sun-Dried
Summary: Apocalypse-   Greek: ἀποκάλυψις apokálypsis :    1:   a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception.   2:   The end of the world.
1. Chapter 1

**(A/N): Hey Everybody! Sun-Dried here, presenting my first story here on FF (I figured it was about time to stop stalking the site and actually publish some of my own work). **

**So, yeah. This is story about... well, you'll see. But basically, the gods are being idiots, and Percy and the gang have to figure out a way to undo the god's mistakes**

**I've gotten about 7,500 words done so far, so I have plenty in storage, so you will probably see an update once a week.**

**Oh! And since I'm new, it would be absolutely wonderful if someone could tell me if it is common to respond to every review. Thank you so much for your help!**

**Thanks a ton for reading! Don't forget to review!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for the OCs**.

~Chapter One~

"Are you insane, Lord Zeus?" Poseidon asked incredulously, his voice rising above the other protests that filled the giant hall.

"Not at all, brother. I've begun to miss my worshippers. Living for eternity without anybody knowing you exist has gotten really boring." Zeus replied wistfully.

It was the winter solstice. The gods were gathered in the throne room to hold the annual council. It wasn't going well.

Poseidon had stood up, and was now running his hand through his hair in trepidation. The strange thing about gods is they never look then same as when you last saw them. They were always changing their appearance to what suited their mood and tastes that day. Zeus now looked like he was at least 100, but like an old guy that worked out for twelve hours a day, while spending the other half making love with pretty women. Poseidon, however, looked no older than seventeen. His hair was now beach blonde and waving as if in a sea breeze, but the air in the throne room was still. He was shirtless, showing off his youthful chest, and wearing swim trunks and sandals. Not the most appropriate attire for the council of the gods, but he was Poseidon- god of the seas, the maker of horses, the Earth-shaker. If he wanted to look like he was going surfing in California, then by all means do so.

"We can't just remove the mists!" Hera shouted, "Why didn't you talk to me about this before the meeting?"

Zeus parried with equal venom. "Because I knew you would react this way, _dearest_."

Artemis rocketed out of her seat and stood in front of Zeus, her silver toga shimmering over her almost childish figure. "I agree with Poseidon and Hera. This is the worst idea I've heard in the last millennia! It's foolish, witless, unintelligent, imprudent, thoughtless, absurd, inane, ridiculous, unwise, thickheaded, and…" Artemis seemed to falter as she ran out of words, "…and stupid! I will not allow it!"

"While it may be many of those things, Artemis dear, I don't think it unwise," Athena mused. "Everyone would just be so much more happy when they are exposed to our divine entities. Mortals have grown stupider through the centuries. They don't think to stop and look past their so-called science every once and a while and see that it is us who make the world go round. We'd be doing them a _favor_ if we revealed ourselves to them!"

"I wouldn't mind having my worshippers back!" Ares thundered in.

"But think of how much work it was when we had prayers coming in at all hours!" Hera shouted back, "We never got any peace!"

"Silence, everyone!" yelled Zeus. "Enough shouting, my head is beginning to hurt. I have made my decision, and it is time for us to vote. But before we do, think about this. The only mortals that believe anymore are our children, and they are few. What happens when even they abandon us?"

Poseidon scoffed. "That will never happen; our children are loyal to us!"

"Really?" countered Zeus, a scowl on his face. "Eventually, they will forget who they are, and their strange existence will forever remain a mystery to them! Our temples are broken and shattered. They are used as tourist destinations—honestly! Is that what we want for them? What is the point of living up here, above all of humanity, if no one even knows of our existence?" he hissed. "When no one fears us or is in awe of us? There is _no point!_"

There was silence throughout the great hall as the gods pondered Zeus's words. Hera looked down at her golden sandals, an internal war raging in her head. Ares bit the end of spear in agitation, already having decided. Athena broke the quiet. "All in favor of removing the Mists?" She raised her hand, as did Zeus, Ares, Iris, Dionysus, Apollo, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, and Demeter. With a glance at her husband, Hera reluctantly lifted her perfect hand and released the breath she had been holding. Poseidon and Artemis were the only ones sitting adamantly with their hand in their laps.

"Well then," Zeus thundered, "it is decided." He waved one hand and glasses of nectar appeared floating next to each god. Zeus plucked his of the air and raised it high.

"To the removal of the Mists!" Zeus announced once everyone but Poseidon and Artemis lifted their glasses towards his.

"The removal of the mists!" they all echoed back, and they drank.


	2. Chapter 2

**(A/N): Hey Everybody! So I've decided to upload early... cause I felt like it. This chapter is introducing an OC, but not a lot of character development because mostly action. Hope you like it and don't forget to review! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO!**

~Chapter Two~

Josephine Garter was on her way to see her boss. This was a big day for her; a promotion was so close she could almost taste it. She tapped her toe impatiently. Why did these Empire State Building elevators have to take so long? She was only going up a few dozen floors, but it seemed like she had been in here for ages.

"I swear this thing is slowing down," she muttered to herself. She banged the panel containing the floor buttons in frustration. Suddenly, the buttons began to flash; light peeking through the plastic buttons randomly, slowly picking up speed.

"What the…?" Josephine inquired of the panel, leaning toward it, wondering how long it will take to be fixed.

SNAP! The elevator jerked down, sending a screaming Josephine to the floor. Gasping, she tucked the brown strands of hair back up into her pristine bun and reached a shaky hand up, pressing the red help button in the panel.

"Hello?" Josephine said towards the panel, "Can anybody hear me? Look, I think there's something wrong with the elevator. The buttons were flashing like crazy and the entire elevator just dropped a few feet a second ago. Is there anyone there?" Josephine asked, slowly coming to realize that no one could hear her.

She pushed her desired floor into the panel, but nothing happened, the little light didn't even show up behind the number. The bright red fingernails pressed more buttons, and as still nothing happened, a sense of panic rose in Josephine. She couldn't get the elevator to move, the floor might drop out from under her at any second, and no one was coming to help her.

SNAP! The floor dropped a few more few feet, depositing Josephine back onto the cold floor.

"SOMEONE HELP ME! I'm in the elevator! Help; it's going to fall!" She screamed, choking back tears as hysteria swept over her mind. She ran over and banged on the doors, screaming into air, knowing no one could hear her.

The elevator gave another great lurch, and Josephine fell quiet, the only sound her ragged breathing. Somehow, she knew this was the end. No one was coming to save her.

"I'm going to die in here," she whimpered to herself, crawling into the corner and pulling her knees to her chest. Grasping her right hand in her left, she ripped off a ring. She stared into the diamond sitting delicately in the middle of her engagement ring and thought of all she had to lose. Three weeks… just three weeks until she was supposed to marry him. She and Aiden probably wouldn't have rushed the wedding if not for a pleasant accident. She dropped her other hand down to her lower abdomen. Still to early to show… but all the tests had come back positive. That was why she needed the raise, to support her soon-to-be family. Her apartment wasn't big enough to hold them all.

She pulled the ring to her lips, kissing it. "Please, please," she pleaded, tilting back her head and letting the tears flow freely, "If there's a god up there, if there's _anything_ up there, please, please, just let me live- If not for me, for my baby. I know I've made a lot of mistakes in my life, but my baby hasn't- heck it hasn't even _had_ a life yet. Come on, twenty-seven's too young to die. Please, please, please, please, please, please"—

SNAP CRACK! The elevator cables finally gave and the tiny capsule hurtled down. Josephine screamed as a feeling of weightlessness came over her. Her eyes went wide open in terror; she wanted to close them, but she couldn't. The screeching sound of metal scraping together was all around her, but all she could hear was her own gasps and sobs. She could see light all around her, most emitting from the floor button panel. That was strange…

Josephine closed her eyes, preparing herself for death. She began to feel heavy again. In fact, it felt as the elevator was slowing down… Opening her eyes, Josephine looked around the seemingly normal elevator. The floor ground to a halt. "What the hell?" she gasped. Josephine slowly got to her feet and straightened her black suit. The doors opened with a ding, like nothing had happened. Pulling her hair back from her sweaty face, Josephine stepped shakily out into the lobby of the Empire State Building.

There were people everywhere, all with scared looks on their faces and with their ears in their cell phones. A mob had started by the welcoming desk; everyone was shouting at the man behind the counter, but he was just sitting there, calmly reading his e-mail.

Josephine walked to the doors; she just wanted to get home. She had made it all the way to the glass doors before she was stopped by to security men.

"We're sorry Ma'am, but you can't leave. No one is allowed to leave the building until the police check everyone."

"Why, what's happened?" Josephine asked, and then dropping her voice to a whisper, "Has someone been murdered?"

"Uhh, no…" The large man said.

"Look here, you." She said fiercely, facing the man that was twice her size. "I was just nearly killed by an elevator a minute ago! It just fell out from under me!"

"We're very sorry, but the entire building has gone wack," said the smaller, but still rather large, man, "it's just gone haywire."

"Then what are we all still doing here when the entire Empire State Building can fall on top of us at any moment?" Josephine said sarcastically, and then reverted back to her normal voice. "Let me out! I have to get back home!" She pushed her way past the guards and stepped out into the street. She immediately noticed that something was wrong. There was no one outside. And it was really dark, as if the sun had been blotted out.

"Oh. My. God." She stammered out, as she looked up. Something _had _blocked the sun. She was standing in the shadow of a giant _mountaintop_. It hovered just above the tip of the building. It was almost completely shrouded in mist, but Josephine could still make out some giant white columns, stretching into the sky. She could only stand there with her mouth gaping until the security guards came and escorted her back inside.

**Hope you liked it! You'll be seeing Josephine a little more later on. I tried to make her more mortal-ish. I wrote it so she would become more panicked more quickly than a demigod. Maybe you picked that up? I use her mostly to show the story from a mortal's point of view, but she does have her own plot line, too. Don't forget to review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey Everybody! I'm celebrating cracking my 10,000 word mark and finishing my longest chapter ever (four and a half pages!) by sharing another chapter with you! This is not the longest chapter ever... in fact it's really short. But better than nothing, right? You'll probably be seeing more of me tomorrow. **

**Oh, and uhh... I feel kinda bad about asking this, but I would really appreciate more reviews and comments. Even if it's just an "I like this" or "This story is crap. Please stop.". At least I'll know how I'm being received by everyone. The few reviews that I've gotten have been very complimentary, and many thanks to: **

**The Bitch Next Door**

**Shnizel **

**and Lawyers**

**and let's not forget out no name reviewer! Yes, this story is about Percy and Annabeth, but that particular chapter was just introducing an OC that will pop in from time to time.**

**WoW! Long A/N. So without further ado...**

**Disclaimer- well, a little more ado. I don't own Percy Jackson. Or anything else**

~Chapter Three~

Sally Jackson was in her kitchen chopping vegetables when she felt it.

A slight shiver ran through her body, though the apartment was quite warm. She put down her knife and stepped towards the window, wiping her hands on a kitchen towel.

A normal winter day in New York City greeted her. The only thing special about the day was its length- it was the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. It was only three in the afternoon and the sun was already on its way down.

The people in the streets were out doing some last minute holiday shopping, milling around like bugs beneath her. They all had bundled up against the winter wind and had their collars pulled up to their chins, scarves snapping in the brisk breeze.

As usual, the sun was partially blocked by Olympus, floating regally in the sky.

Sally was one of the few mortals gifted with eyes that could see through the mists. And so, as she looked down upon the streets of Manhattan, she noticed nothing amiss. The only sounds were the wind howling against the windowpane and the voices coming from the television in the other room. She soon went back to her zucchini chopping.

Suddenly, a sound woke Sally from the lull she had fallen into while slicing the vegetable. She quickly walked into living room and looked towards the television. The fanfare of a "Breaking News" report had blared out of the speakers.

A newscaster came into the shot.

"We are getting reports of a mysterious occurrence. A mountaintop has suddenly appeared over the Empire State Building in New York City."

The screen flashed to a video of the skyscraper. Sally's gifted eyes widened. She ran over to her cell phone and speed dialed Percy.

He should be taking the subway home from school by now. In fact, he should almost be home. Why wasn't he home yet? Had something happened to him? Thoughts swam in Sally's head as she desperately waited for her son to pick up.

In the background she could still her the newscaster, saying things like "Experts converging" or "Military support has been called in". It seemed like a million dial tones had passed before Percy answered.

"Hey Mom, what's up?"

"Where are you?" she demanded.

"Whoa, relax! I'm sitting in the subway. I just got a sandwich. What's wrong? You know I shouldn't be on my phone."

Sally took a deep breath before replying.

"They know, Percy. They know _everything_."

And then the screaming started.

**Hope you liked it! Don't forget to review please! ~Sun-Dried**


	4. Chapter 4

**Happy Thanksgiving Everybody! Well, for those who live in the US (which, according to my stats, is most of you). Since the last chappie was really short, I'm making it up to you by sending out a really long Annabeth chapter! And, if I'd get plenty of reviews on this one, there will be another long chapter up tomorrow! So get your typing fingers ready and hit that little blue button at the bottom of the page!**

**Disclaimer: You know, some people make these things really witty and clever, but I really don't care enough to think one up. I don't own PJATO.**

~Chapter Four~

It was about one o'clock in the afternoon when the principle came on the loudspeaker.

"Due to special circumstances, students are to be released from school at this time."

All students gave a small cheer as they heard the news. Annabeth stretched her legs out underneath her desk and a shiver ran down her spine, as if she was cold. This was her last day before winter break at her school in San Francisco, and she was eager to get out of the building and back into the fresh air. There were still a few hours of bright daylight left, even on the shortest day of the year.

Annabeth was working on a Christmas gift for her father: a perfect replica of the battle of Troy, wooden horse and all. Unfortunately, she had to work on outside, as the pieces were too big to fit inside the house. When they were perfectly put together, however, she was sure that the scene would be no bigger that her father's desk.

At first, the students didn't bother to listen to the second part of the principle's message, but by the end, they were all silent.

"Students are strongly recommended to call a parent for a ride home, as the streets may be very dangerous. If a student must walk, a member of staff shall accompany him or her to their home. Once inside, it is advised to not go out of doors again, unless in an emergency. Some emergency procedures may be activated."

Then principle's voice was gone, and whispers began amongst the students. Annabeth had just assumed the principle was being nice and letting them out early for a holiday, but something was obviously wrong. Annabeth exchanged a glace with her friend Marcy sitting opposite her. Marcy was a girl of average height and build with brown hair dyed black and a small stud in her nose.

Marcy leaned over to her, "You don't think someone's been killed, do you?"

Annabeth just shook her head, "That wouldn't explain why they don't want us outside."

"Well, what if it's the Presidents that's been killed?"

"Nah, my best guess is a terrorist attack."

Annabeth could hear similar conversations being held throughout the room. Her mind was whirring with ideas. Her first thought was if Percy had just been let out of school, too. _Oh, wait- time change_. It was probably a little over three in New York. Percy would already be out of school by now.

The kids had started to gather their things. About half of them were already on their phones. They could feel the tension in the air just as well as Annabeth could, and they wanted to get home.

She pushed herself up from her seat and walked up to her history teacher, Mr. Jakes.

Mr. Jakes was an old man of what looked like two thousand years, with crooked glasses and a comb over. Add a pocket protector and he could be the world's most ancient nerd. He sniffed and pushed up his glasses as Annabeth walked over to him. Forget the oldest nerd, Mr. Jakes was already the world's most oldest stalker. It was a well-known fact that Mr. Jakes had looked through every single pretty girl's Facebook pictures to try and find the revealing ones…_ Just one more reason not to get a Facebook_, thought Annabeth. Demigods and technology don't always mix well.

"What do you need, Ms. Chase? A walk home?" Mr. Jakes looked at her hopefully.

"No, thanks, Mr. Jakes. I'm getting a ride from my dad. Do you know what's going on?"

The man shook his head, sniffling. "I'm as much in the dark as you are. The principle didn't bother to share the situation with us teachers," Mr. Jakes replied bitterly, obviously resentful towards his boss. He looked back at her. "Are you sure about that ride home?"

Annabeth ran to catch up with Marcy as she started to stroll to the doors.

"Is your mom picking you up?" Annabeth asked of her friend.

"Yeah, she should be here soon. What about you?" Marcy asked.

"My dad, probably. I'll call him now." Annabeth said.

"Oh, there's my mom. Better be off! Have a merry Christmas!"

"And a happy New Year!" Annabeth called after her, laughing.

It took the blonde only a few strides to get to the school's pay phone, but she hesitated. Her hand hovered above the receiver. When a demigod uses a phone, it sends up a huge flare to all monsters in the area, alerting them of her presence. Annabeth already felt vulnerable to attacks, and she didn't want to make it any worse.

She lowered her hand. She would just have to walk home. It wasn't that far, and she was well protected with her dagger from any type of maniac on the loose. She turned toward the teacher chaperones and saw that there was only one left- Mr. Jakes.

_There is no way in Hades I am walking home with him_, she thought. She crossed the hallway, hurried down a flight of steps, and slipped out the back door.

Once out of the school building, Annabeth felt a strong desire to run back inside. The stress in the streets was tangible; she could practically taste it. People were walking at an abnormally fast pace. Some were even running in their pencil skirts and high heels, briefcases waving behind them. Annabeth made sure her celestial bronze knife was within easy reach.

Annabeth was about halfway home when she saw the huge figure bounding towards her. It seemed, phone call or not, that a monster had found her. Annabeth quickly drew her knife and settled into an easy fighting stance.

Monster attacks did happened in San Francisco. Usually Annabeth simply avoided them during the day, not wanting to draw attention to herself. She then went out at night and tracked them down. Whenever she had been forced into a fight, she was always up and out of the scene before anyone could get a good look at her.

The monster soon turned out to be a hellhound- and not the Mrs. O'Leary kind. It bounded towards her with his teeth bared and drool coming from its mouth. The mortals started to scream. Annabeth wondered what they were seeing. Probably a bear escaped from the zoo or something.

The hellhound paused for a moment before leaping towards her. Annabeth easily sidestepped and slashed the hellhound on the shoulder. The gigantic dog growled and whined in pain before lunging at her again. This particular hellhound was rather small and clumsy. Annabeth flicked her wrist and sent the knife flying straight into the monster's eye. All that was left of hellhound was a giant pile of ash and one single claw as a trophy of war, her knife laying a little ways off. The claw wasn't even worth picking up the fight had been other so quick.

Annabeth took off running to get away from the scene of the fight. The mortals were screaming their heads off back there. She ducked behind a wall to catch her breath.

"-just this huge dog jumps out of nowhere and attacks this girl. Yes, it was black. Yes, _of course_ it was larger than a great Dane. Do you think I'd be calling if it wasn't?" cried a voice from around the corner.

Annabeth realized that she was listening in on someone's 911 call. Her jaw slowly dropped as she came to the conclusion that whoever was talking had seen through the mists.

She took a peek around the wall- Mr. Jakes! He must have been waking just behind her. Annabeth scolded herself for not realizing it.

"The girl who fought it? Well, her name is Annabeth Chase, she's one of my students. "

_I need to get out of here_. Annabeth slipped her Yankees cap out of her backpack and slapped it on her head, turning invisible. Annabeth took off at a run down the road, charging through people's conversations. She couldn't help but smile when she saw their startled faces- they literally didn't know what hit them. More people were screaming as the news of the monster attacks spread. Annabeth caught snippets of different conversations.

"-Just up the road-"

"-Apparently it was huge"-

"-Mountaintop over New York!"

The last comment made Annabeth run even faster, desperate to get to talk to anybody who would know what was going on. When she finally burst into the house and slipped her hat off, her stepmother was waiting for her.

"Percy's been trying to get a hold of you for ages!" She cried after Annabeth as the girl skidded to a halt next to the sink. Annabeth reached into the cupboard, bypassing the trashcan, and grabbed an empty spray bottle she always kept under the sink. She hurriedly filled it with water, stood next to a sunny window, and began spaying like crazy. With the other she tried to undo her back pocket's button to grab a Drachma, but was rather hard when you were also trying to keep a rainbow going.

"Here, let me do that," her stepmother said as she walked over and grabbed the spray bottle. Annabeth smiled gratefully at her and plucked the Drachma out of her pocket.

"O, Iris, goddess of the rainbow, accept my offering," Annabeth recited as she tossed the coin through the misty rainbow. It didn't come out the other side.

Percy's face appeared in the rainbow. He was at his apartment, watching the news.

"Percy!" she called to get his attention.

His head whipped around. "Annabeth! Thank gods! I've been trying to talk to you for almost an hour! I thought I was going to run out of Drachmas. Oh, wait," he looked down into his pocket, "…I did."

"I was at school, chill Percy." The sight of his face seemed to calm her down a little.

"Do you know? About how the"-

"Mortals can see through the mist? Yeah I just figured it out when I took down a hellhound and my stalker history teacher nearly turned me into the police," Annabeth said as she pulled her curly blonde hair back into a high ponytail.

"Yeah… Wait- stalker history teacher?" he quizzically.

Annabeth waved her hand as if brushing off a fly. "It's nothing I can't handle. But back to the mists!"

"Yeah, it's almost like there's no mists at all, know what I mean? It's like _zap!" _he flicked his hands, "and no mists!"

"Thank you for that splendid demonstration, Percy," she teased. "No one would ever guess that your brain is full of kelp."

He cocked a grin and threw back, "I'd like to see you do one better, Wise Girl."

"I accept that challenge, Seaweed Brain," she smiled, "but it has to wait until we get to camp. Have to you talked to Chiron?"

"No, not yet. I was just about to when you called."

"Okay, I'll let you go then. I'll call you later to find out what he said."

Percy smiled. "See you soon, Annabeth. Love you."

"I love you, too." And she waved away the rainbows.

Annabeth crossed the room and looked out the window, brushing aside the curtain.

It was chaos outside. Almost everybody was running and screaming, and the monsters were just lapping all the pandemonium up. The mayhem seemed to attract more monsters than usual. Annabeth spotted another hellhound running down a side street. She could hear a small herd of centaurs rioting a few streets over. No wonder the mortals were freaking out- it looked like the end of the world out there.

Annabeth let go of the curtain and resolutely stalked away from the scene outside. She had to get to camp.

**~ And that's it for today, folks! Remember to hit that button right beneath this! Go on, hit it! ~Sun-Dried**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks you so much everybody for the reviews! You guys are awesome! Hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving and stuffed you faces full of turkey and such. And so, as a reward for your fabulous reviews- another long Annabeth chapter! I always imagined Annabeth to be really put together in camp, but at home she just leads a relatively normal life. Ergo the room. And her somewhat scattered mindset.**

**LoverGirl- yeah... you'll see Percy's POV in Chapter Eight. But it's a really long chapter!**

**Keep up your wonderful reviews! I really appreciate them!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJATO.**

~Chapter Five~

"Damn it!" Annabeth shouted and slammed her fist against her laptop screen.

She was trying to get a flight to New York City, or even remotely close to there, but the government had shut down all airports. They were under a national emergency. There was no way she could fly to camp. There was only one practical option, and she hated even thinking it. But it seemed to be the only way to get to Camp Half-Blood.

Annabeth quickly turned her office chair around and faced her bedroom. It wasn't exactly fit for company.

Her underwear and bras where thrown everywhere except her closet and whenever she finally had enough of looking at the insanity, she just pushed everything under the bed. She was not looking forward to cleaning that out when she finally left the house for good.

The rest of her clothes were spilling out of her dresser like spilt milk.

But what really dominated her room were the blueprints. The plans covered every surface, so the space looked more like an undulating ocean than a bedroom. The only object in the room that they were not draped over was her bed, and that was only because Annabeth didn't want the plans to get creased when she kicked them off in the night.

Annabeth's official excuse for the untidiness of her area was that her room was simply not large enough to accommodate her projects, but the real reason was that she just never got around to it. Cleaning her room seemed so unimportant compared to fighting off monsters or designing new plans for the Olympus remodel. Annabeth made a mental note to herself to check to see if that was still happening, despite the whole "no mists" crisis.

Annabeth crossed the room, carefully stepping over plans for arches and columns and temples and fountains. Of course, any architectural sketches of real value were stacked up on her desk around her delta-inscribed laptop. Stepping in between plans for a new support structure for the Athena cabin- because she was going to get to that project, someday- Annabeth finally tipped into her closet.

It was almost empty- not surprising, considering that all of her belongings were tossed about in the adjoining room. The only article of clothing inside was a horrible Christmas sweater that her stepmother had bought her, back when they were fighting. Annabeth still wasn't sure whether it was the shopping with her stepmother or the sweater that was supposed to be the torture.

Dropped in the corner of the closet was a neon orange backpack.

Annabeth quickly grabbed it and hopped back into the room, snatching as many orange camp tee shirts as she could find and shoving them in the bag. She exchanged the dark blue shirt she had been wearing for the cleanest of the camp shirts.

As an afterthought, she plucked the sweater from out of her closet. It was probably the cleanest garment in the room. Maybe she would need to torture somebody at camp of information, or maybe she could just give it to the stables as bedding.

Annabeth snatched her toothbrush from the bathroom and ran down to the front entry. She had her tennis shoes on and her hand was almost on the doorknob when she whipped back around toward the kitchen, like a confused tornado.

Ripping open the pantry door, the blonde searched fervently before her hand closed around a plastic jar. One can never leave the home for long periods of time without bringing along some Jif. Thank the gods for Costco and their jumbo products. Annabeth could barely fit her hand around the container.

After depositing the peanut butter into her backpack, Annabeth scrawled a note to her parents, explaining where she was going and that she had no idea when she'd be back. Unfortunately her stepmother had left to pick up her siblings at their school, so she could not give the message directly.

The street was deserted when Annabeth finally stepped out from the house. She could still hear the car alarms and some mortal screams in the distance along with the _chi-chi-chi-cheeeeeeeer_ of her neighbor's sprinklers (they were so wasteful with water), but the rogue monsters seemed to be leaving her street alone. _Thank gods no one's here_, she thought, _with my camp shirt and backpack, it looks like I've had creamsicle sneezed all over me._

She dropped her bag on the lawn and walked over to her neighbor's sprinkling system. In the house the lights were off and the curtains drawn. They didn't appear to be home. Annabeth grabbed another drachma out of her back pocket, threw it into the mists from the sprinklers, and recited the incantation.

A boy's face appeared in the rainbows. His black hair had grown since the last time Annabeth saw him, and, though it was hard to tell in an Iris Message, he had shot up an inch or two. All in all, Nico d'Angelo seemed to be growing up.

He noticed her immediately. "Annabeth," he exclaimed, looking confused. "To what do I owe this somewhat pleasure?"

"You're needed back at camp," she explained, recounting all she knew about the situation. "We want you to be a liaison from the underworld and Hades."

Nico looked grave **(1)**, which was not unusual for him. "Okay… I'll be there as fast as I can," he said and moved to wipe away the message.

"Wait!"

Nico stopped and looked at her expectantly.

"You don't think… that you could pick me up, could you?" Annabeth asked, her eyes traveling to the ground, and an embarrassed smile twitched in her lips.

Nico smirked, happy that Annabeth was now indebted to him, even by a little. "Sure. Be there in five." And he wiped the image away.

Annabeth went and sat on the front stoop, waiting impatiently for Nico. A small herd of centaurs turned into her street and Annabeth quickly put her hat on, her ponytail getting in the way. The centaurs were hollering and cantering like the party ponies, but with all of the loose energy in the air, they had gone completely wild. There was no telling whether they were dangerous or not in their current state.

Annabeth sat extremely still on the front step as the centaurs galloped by. When they were only ten feet past her the supposed leader of the herd held up his hand and stopped. The rest of the horse-men skidded a few feet beyond him, their hooves sliding on the pavement. They seemed to be out of breath from racing up and down San Francisco's many hills.

"What is it, boss? What's wrong?" one of the following centaurs asked his leader, gasping.

"This house," he pointed towards Annabeth's bright yellow home, "reeks of demigod."

Annabeth was suddenly very glad she had taken the initiative to put on her cap as the centaurs began to chuckle.

The boss circled back towards the house, and Annabeth tensed, silently drawing her knife. The centaur's lower half was a rich chestnut, his upper body Caucasian, and his hair matched his horse half. He looked about twenty-four, although you could never tell with centaurs.

"Oh, demigod!" the leader called in a high pitched voice, "Where are you?"

He stumbled over his own long legs, and Annabeth realized they were all drunk. She grimaced in disgust at their irresponsibility. They were as bad as the monsters like this!

Another drunken centaur trotted forward, this one bay and blonde-haired, his bow drawn. The end of the arrow quivered as his arm trembled. "Come out, come out wherever you are," he cooed in a scratchy voice, hiccupping persistently, "We don't want to hurt you; we just want to play!" They all snickered.

The boss of the centaurs was just a few feet away from Annabeth now, and gaining.

She held her breath. Another step forward. She tightened her grip on her knife, ready to strike. Another step, the _clop_ of his hooves ringing in the air. There was no way she would be able to fight off a herd of centaurs by herself- even a small drunken herd. Annabeth could smell the strange combination of nectar and mortal booze wafting off of him, and wrinkled her nose. One more step and the centaur would be standing on top of her.

_Okay, I'll stand up and ram my head against his chest. No, that's not any good, it won't hurt him at all, and I'd probably knock myself out… So I'd jab up with my knife, and catch him under the jaw. That should surprise him. _

But she didn't have time to use any of her battle plans, because out of the shadows bounced a huge hellhound, barking and bray and making a lot of general noise to announce its arrival. The centaurs scattered, surprised, shouting out curses as they began to half-canter, half-stumble up the road away from the howling monster.

Annabeth finally let go of the breath she had been holding, got up, and turned toward the hellhound, who had fallen silent once the centaurs were out of sight.

A dark head peek out from behind the hellhound's massive muzzle. Annabeth smiled and petted Mrs. O'Leary on the snout. She gave a small growl of pleasure. Annabeth had to sidestep as the giant dog attempted to lick her slobbering tongue across her.

"Well, are you coming or not, Ms Neon Orange?" asked Nico, who was straddled across Mrs. O'Leary's back. Annabeth flushed when Nico mentioned her less-than-attractive outfit.

As Annabeth accepted a hand from Nico and pulled herself up behind him she asked, "What took you so long? I was nearly mauled by centaurs!" Annabeth suddenly felt uncomfortable at the intimate closeness of Nico's body against hers. She and almost never been alone with him before, nevertheless had an actual conversation with him. She still looked at him as the little boy who played with Mythomagic cards. He had grown up a lot since then… too much. But then again, so had she. She inched a little farther away from him.

"Yeah, I was wondering about that," Nico said, puzzled. "Aren't the centaurs on our side?"

"Under usual circumstances, yes," Annabeth said as Mrs. O'Leary began moving down her street, "but it seems that the missing mists have all the creatures going on rampage. The mortals can see them now, and they seem to be enjoying all the attention. See? Even Mrs. O'Leary is affected." Annabeth gestured towards their mount, who was panting at an abnormally fast pace and kept swinging her head back and forth. Nico grunted.

"The centaurs practically feed off the stuff, plus they're naturally wild and absurd. The idiots I was dealing with were drunk on both nectar and cheap beer," she explained.

"Oh yeah, great job dealing with them, Annabeth," Nico teased and they headed towards another block of shadows. "I'm surprised no one's named that particular defensive technique yet. You know," he said as he jabbed her in the stomach with his elbow, "the one where you turn invisible and wait for the handsome son of Hades and his trusty hellhound to come and save you."

"Ha-ha, Nico, very funny. And I could have taken them!" Annabeth snapped.

"Bull shit." he said pompously.

And they passed into shadows.

**(1)—Grave? Get it? He's the son of Hades, and he's _grave_! Haha, I'm so punny! Well, I actually got the idea from Romeo and Juliet, but whatever. **

**Hope you liked it! Remember review! ~Sun-Dried**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! So this next chapter is... a tad suggestive. But pretty clean. **

**And.. I might have to slow down the updates a bit, maybe every other day instead of everyday? I hit a little bit of writer's block and I'm running out of storage. But, if I get plenty of reviews on this next chapter, you may see another chapter tomorrow. Also, Thanksgiving break is almost over, and since I usually write at about midnight, my writing time may be shortened some. But I promise to keep my updates fairly regular.**

**Also.. huh.. *looks guilty* I realize I spelt Nico's name wrong in the last chapter. It's Nico di Angelo, not Nico d'Angelo. Woops. **

**But anyway! Hope you enjoy this next chapter, and don't forget to review please!**

* * *

><p>~Chapter Six~<p>

Josephine closed the door and leaned against it, sliding down until she sat on the floor. She stretched her legs out in front of her, letting go of a huge breath, and tilted her head back against the door. She looked up as she heard the heavy steps of her fiancé coming towards her.

"Thank God you're home!" Aiden cried, settling down next to her and wrapping his arms around her. She pressed her head into his chest.

Aiden was a man of twenty-nine years, but he looked older. The hay-colored hair on the top of his head had begun to fade away, and there were wrinkles by the corners of his mouth and eyes, which were a dark brown. In contrast to his face, however, Aiden's body was fit and lean, and Josephine felt very secure in his arms.

Josephine had called him about three hours after the elevator incident, as she dubbed it, and explained that she was caught up in police investigations and wouldn't be home until late. She hadn't anticipated it would be this late. It was nearly one in the morning.

Pressing her eyes closed, she clenched Aiden's purple sweater in her fist and breathed in through it. "What's happening… it's like the end of the world outside," she murmured.

Aiden scooped her up in his arms and she moved her hands through his soft hair as he carried her into their bedroom. The television was on, and images of the panic in the streets flashed across the screen. Aiden leaned backwards until he was on his back on the bed with Josephine stretched on top of him.

He twirled a strand of her light brown hair between his fingers. "I don't know what's going on. But I'll always be here," he said softly in her ear.

Josephine calmed down some at his voice. This was why she loved Aiden; he wasn't a romantic, but he new how to make her feel safe and loved. She never found rose petals scatter across her bed, but his words were better than any flower. Aiden's words were his power.

He was in the middle of writing a novel, but it was slow going, and he was only a few hundred pages in. The money had begun to dry up. Just another reason she needed that raise—the raise that had almost brought about her death. Her comment was muffled in Aiden's sweater.

"Hmm?" he questioned

"Do you believe in fate?" Josephine asked of Aiden when she had lifted her face from his chest.

"'A man's character is his fate'—Heraclitus, Greek philosopher," he quoted.

"No, no," she chided, "I want to know _your_ opinion, not some dead Greek guy's."

Aiden contemplated for a moment. "I believe… that fate comes to people who do not act, they only sit and let life take them where it please. Usually," he continued, giving a small smile, "their fate is not often desired."

Josephine grinned and set her head back down. Aiden moved a hand up under her shirt, his cold fingers chilling her spine. He dexterously undid her bra strap, massaging her back. He had had a lot of practice at these maneuvers. Josephine shuddered as her fiancé hit just the right spot near her shoulder blade and then relaxed again when he moved on.

The rhythmic motion of Aiden's hand lulled her, and her mind began to wander back to that afternoon in the police station. The entire place had been in a panic, much like the rest of New York. The interrogators had not been very friendly with the people from the Empire State Building. They were trying to move as many people through as possible, as there were so many possible threats, but they didn't want to miss any terrorist and such. So the police had made their interrogations short and brutal.

At first, Josephine was confused at way the police were so viciously interested in her, and they had to explain that there was only one elevator that hadn't crashed into the bottom of the shaft. She had been in that one. Six people had lost their lives in those elevators, but she had survived, and for no discernible reason. Her elevator was just sitting in the bottom of the shaft, completely unharmed, as if someone had lowered it to the ground. Why had she been saved?

Josephine had blubbered out her story to the cops, afraid of what they would do to her if she didn't. She had even stammered out the embarrassing parts, like when she had pissed her pants a little on the fly down.

"I don't know why you were saved, Ms Garter," the chief officer said as they were letting her out, "but you are one lucky woman."

Why had she been saved when the others had died? Was it fate? Had someone intervened? Was it God?

Pushing aside these questions, Josephine put her hand on the back of Aiden's head and pulled herself so her face was just above his. His breath smelled like grapefruit juice and tomato sauce. She traced one of the small crinkles at the tips of his lips. He pulled her closer and put his lips to hers, opening them slightly.

She pushed away. "It's late," she said and tried to roll off of him but he pulled her back over.

"Not late enough," he growled in her ear and kissed her passionately.

She simply laughed through his kiss and returned his affection.

**That's it! Please, please, please review! They make me feel really great inside! ~Sun-Dried**


	7. Chapter 7

**Ummm. Yeah, I know. It's short. But I hate changing POVs in the middle of chapters. I promise I'll get another chapter up tomorrow- And it's a really long Percy chapter! So I hope you can hold out until then... because I know you practically feed off my story. :D**

**Please enjoy and don't forget to review! **

~Chapter Six~

"Colonel!"

Colonel Jeffery Anderson looked over to a worker sitting in front of a computer screen. The worker had turned towards him and had a worried look on his face.

"What is it?" the Colonel asked as we walked up to the worker. The computer screen had satellite images on it.

"Sir, in light of the recent events in New York City- with the mountain appearing and such- you asked us to look for anything that appeared on our satellite imagery at the same time."

"Yes, I remember," Colonel Anderson grumbled. He hadn't been getting much sleep. "Have you found something?"

"Well, yes."

The worker zoomed in on the images. They seemed to show two rows of temples, with two at their head. They looked very Grecian, which immediately tipped off the footage of the mountaintop in New York had Grecian buildings on it as well, and these temples may be connected to it.

"We'll send a squadron in to check it out. Where is it?"

"Long Island, sir."

The Colonel smiled. He had been waiting twenty-five years to prove his stripes. This chance would not get away from him.

**Sorry it was so short, but i update often enough to make up for it, right? Please review! It means the world to me! ~Sun-Dried**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hello Everybody! It's a Percy chapter! And it's the second longest chapter I've ever written (the one after this is longer... I think) *crowd cheers*.**

**So yeah, one change-**

**I'm taking a bit of liberty here and doing away with Percy's invincibility. It was never a very good plot element and would have never shown up if it weren't in the last book of the series. Once the character becomes invincible, you stop worrying about them. **

**And uhh.. I'm not exactly an expert on all things illegal, so my hotwiring may be a little off.**

**A few review replies:**

**Kas: Thank you very much! This is sometime after TLO, but before HOO (please excuse my abbreviations). So maybe the winter after the battle? The characters are all in their teens, anyway.**

**Midnight4200: Thank you, I'm quite glad it doesn't suck as well. I'm a total grammar snob- thank you for appreciating it!**

**One last thing! Umm.. I actually haven't read the books in forever-I know, I need to do that- so I really sincerely apologize if there's anything wrong. Just tell me in a review if you find something. I'm getting most of my details (like hair color and stuff) from Camp Half Blood wiki. I think I got everybody pretty much in character, though. Percy may be a little dark, but he's pretty pissed in this chapter.**

**Agh! I forgot to do this last chapter! Disclaimer: I don't own PJATO. **

~Chapter Eight~

The city was stopped. No one was moving anywhere. The cars were at a standstill.

Some people had even abandoned their vehicles and had run to their homes, anticipating it to be faster.

"Stupid gods," Percy muttered under his breath as he pushed his way through the panicked streets of New York City.

He hadn't gotten to call Chiron because he hadn't realized until he had hung up on Annabeth that he had run out of Drachmas calling her, but nevertheless he was sure that the gods were responsible for the "no mists" dilemma.

What utter idiots.

Percy looked back over his shoulder, checking for monsters. He was sure that the mortals would alert him before anything could pounce on him, but he wanted to be positive. Riptide was out in full form at his side. Percy had no idea what the mortals would think about his bulky bronze sword, but as a lot of regular citizens were carrying around rifles and shotguns at the ready, he doubted that anyone would really care enough to stop him.

It looked like the end of the world. The police were out in full force, trying to herd people indoors, but people were so scared they were running around like chickens with their heads cut off. Then there are the packs of foxes and wolves that feast on the half-dead chickens, growing in strength as the hysteria spread. Teenagers, rebels, were just running around with guns, freaking everybody out.

_J__UST GO HOME_, Percy wanted to shout. That was the safest place for them, the place where they wouldn't get in the way.

_Have I really come to think of them that way?_ Percy asked himself as he ducked under some girl's flailing arms, _just annoyances that need to get out of my way? _He was disgusted with himself. _Have I really elevated myself to that position?_

Percy was in a hurry, though. Camp Half-Blood needed everyone it could get to get together. Fast. The roads were blocked, so driving wasn't an option. So here he was, a backpack tossed over his shoulder, trying to fight crowds out of the city at two in the morning. The streetlights illuminated the city, making the valleys between the skyscrapers look like a cheap imitation of day. Reds and blues flashed across Percy's face from emergency vehicles stopped in the traffic. The sirens wailed, giving Percy a headache and adding to the confused atmosphere of the city.

A shot rang off in the distance and more screaming sounded, Percy's head whipped around over his shoulder, trying to find the source of the deadly bullet. This maneuver was rather hard to accomplish when one is almost trying to run to keep from being trampled by the suddenly stampeding crowd. Percy tripped over a girl's sleeping bag as she hauled it haphazardly behind her and his face smashed into the ground. Percy felt blood rush from his nose even as a man, pulling a screaming four-year-old along with him, trying to get away from the gunshot, kicked his midsection. Percy held tight to Riptide- the last thing he wanted was to loose his weapon. Someone's foot connected with Percy's head and he saw stars. He thought he heard another deadly CRACK! of a gun, but he couldn't really hear through the ringing in his ears.

_I have to get up_, _I'm gonna get killed down here_, Percy thought even as another boot slammed into him. The woman tripped over him and her forward momentum carried her forward, depositing her on her back beneath other's feet. The combination of both Percy and the woman's bodies began toppling everyone else in the crowd, and soon there was a huge pileup on top of them. _Get up, get up, get up! _ He screamed at himself. Percy forced his way up through the tumbling bodies and ducked into an alleyway nearby to catch his breath and nurse his new wounds. His nose was broken and blood washed down the front of his shirt like a waterfall, staining his white undershirt, making it look as if he had been stabbed in the chest. There was a large bruise on his side and his vision was all fuzzy.

"I've had worse," Percy said to himself, sounding nasally because of his injured nose. He ripped open his backpack and grabbed a square of ambrosia. He practically shoved it down his throat and ran back out into the crowds, jostling for a position in the fast lane.

The ambrosia began to do its job and Percy's vision cleared and the pain form his side lessened. The rest of the trip out of the city was rather uneventful- he was only pushed to the ground two more times.

Two hours later, Percy was on the outskirts of the city and had hit the suburbs. He walked a few more miles, getting out of the traffic, before he huffed to a stop next to an abandoned car. It was a plain Honda Accord, but it would do. Percy noticed the license plate said, "ALOHA". Maybe the owner was Hawaiian. The doors were unlocked, but the keys were missing from the ignition. Percy spent a few futile minutes searching for them in the glove box, but to no avail. Not for the first time, he was thankful to the Stoll brothers for the wisdom that they had passed down to him. Percy flipped upside down and pulled off the hard plastic that covered the wires under the steering wheel and above the pedals. He dug around in the chamber until he found the proper wires. Twisting the plastic coating off the two metal strands, he carefully put their ends together. The engine rumbled into life and Percy swung himself back upward.

Looking out the windshield, Percy stared out into the suburban streets, looking for any sort of threat that had appeared while he had been occupied starting the car. Coming from the city, the difference between the two places in a time of crisis was startling. The neighborhood was deserted. The lights mounted on either side of the garage doors were all off, and even the streetlights seemed dimmed. There were no cars, horns, sirens, or flashing lights. The entire place was eerie. Percy rubbed his arms as a chill crept over him. The heat from the massive amounts of bodies in the city was gone, and a cold December wind picked up. Suddenly Percy wished he had worn more clothing than a blood-stained undershirt and jeans.

Once, Percy saw a child's face in the window of a house and waved. The young girl tentatively waved back, but a large handed reached out from behind the curtains and pulled the toddler away from her lookout post.

Percy quickly pressed the gas pedal and zoomed off into the darkness, only slowing once for a random dog that had run across the road. He ran any red lights he came across and ignored all the stop signs. There was no one else out on the roads anyway.

Percy thumbed the radio, trying to dispel the gloom of the empty streets, but all he could find with clear reception was Russian folk music. _No one who cares can hear me._ Percy cranked that folk music up to full blast, until his ears began to hurt. He also found that taping his foot on the gas pedal caused the engine to roar in time to the music. Percy kept the strange chorus up until he reached Camp Half-Blood's borders.

He left the Accord in the ditch, dug out by a flying Camero many years ago, and walked up Half-Blood Hill. The Golden Fleece hung over a branch of Thalia's pine tree, shimmering in the non-existent moonlight. The Fleece had a way of doing that- making reflections even though there was no light to reflect. A golden dragon was curled up at the bottom of the tree, apparently asleep, but when Percy came near the pine, the dragon lifted his head and growled lazily, as if knowing Percy wasn't a real threat.

"Down, boy," Percy whispered teasingly as he walked past.

Percy looked down at the camp. For five in the morning, the camp was absolutely bristling with excitement and nervous energy. The lights in the Big House were on, and Percy could see the flicker of a TV inside. Fires had been lit at strategic points in camps, their flickering orange blaze helping campers find their way. Percy picked out the blonde hair of Will Solace walking toward his cabin, a bow slung across his back. Clarisse marched around with a few of her fellow campers, their drawn swords glittering in the firelight. One particular blonde head caught his attention. Percy smiled as he watched Annabeth, accompanied by her brother Malcolm, walk out of their cabin and head towards the Big House.

Percy jogged down the hill to meet them. He noticed that Annabeth tensed and reached for her knife before she realized it was he- she was really wary. Her face stretched into a smile, which then disappeared again when she saw he was covered in dried blood. She ran toward him but Percy waved her off demonstrating that he was fine.

Malcolm stood off to the side a little as his half-sister and Percy embraced, seeming even more intimate than a kiss. Percy got some blood in Annabeth's hair, but she didn't seem to mind. Annabeth's body against his was the first familiar and comforting thing in a while, and Percy took great pleasure in it, bury his head in Annabeth's curls and breathing in. She smelt like wood smoke and sweat, but to Percy it was like a breeze wafting off from the Demeter cabin- sweet and so _alive_.

Annabeth pulled away first, and Percy went to greet Malcolm. Slapping their hands together, they pulled each other into a quick, manly hug.

"How you doing Perce?" Malcolm questioned.

"Oh, you know, pretty good," Percy joked, his half-healed nose making him sound funny, "I've just spent the last four hours battling my way out of the city, getting beaten up by a bunch of feet, stealing a car, and blasting Russian folk music out of my speakers. How 'bout you?"

Malcolm chuckled, his blonde hair waving in the breeze. "Same."

Percy took Annabeth's hand and they made their way toward the Big House, chatting and discussing the recent events.

"Chiron said that the gods decided to take it away," Annabeth put in.

"Yeah, I figured," Percy grumbled. "I mean, who else could do this?"

"What were they thinking?" added Malcolm sourly.

Annabeth reprimanded them both, but sounded unsure. "I'm sure they had a motive… besides making cheap entertainment."

"I'm assuming your mother voted for this, Annabeth?" Percy nudged her in the ribs.

"Hey there Seaweed Brain, I wouldn't be picking a fight. There are two children of Athena here," Annabeth retaliated, nudging him back, the pain his bruise flaring up.

They reached the Big House in a few minutes, stopping at Percy's cabin to let him put a new non-blood-stained shirt and wash the gore off his face. A couple of campers had gathered around the ancient television that sat precariously on a rocking chair.

"Apparently, Chiron had this antic up in the attic," Annabeth explained dryly when she saw Percy's questioning look. There wasn't usually any electronics in camp.

"Yeah, and it's a useless piece of shit," a female voice said from somewhere in the cluster of demigods. Thalia, the speaker, stood up and gave the box a sharp kick as it went staticy. The picture flickered back into life, showing a news channel.

"Gods, Thal, watch your mouth!" Percy teased her before going over and giving her a hug. She was wearing her hunter's uniform and looked as if she had just arrived. Her spiky black hair was all messy, not that that was particularly unusual for her, and a circlet of silver lay on top of her head.

"Good to see you too, cuz," she laughed at his comment before going and sitting back down in front of the TV set again. Percy, Annabeth and Malcolm settled around her. Various campers murmured "hello"s to him, keeping their voices lower than the TV. Conner and Travis Stoll were the only ones who shouted out enthusiastic greetings.

The screen showed a female newscaster standing a good distance away from the Empire State Building. The police had erected a barrier around the building, extending almost a quarter of a mile in each direction. The huge crowds were jostling around the newscasters. No one stopped to wave at the camera, but Percy did make out someone shouting, "This is how it all ends!"

"The President is to make an address to the people at six o'clock this morning, but until then we are left clueless as to what exactly is going on inside, and over, this symbol of our nation's achievement," the reported stated.

The screen split so that one half showed the newscaster while the other showed the top Mount Olympus. Spotlights had been set up and were shining at the mountaintop, but most of the light was reflected back by the physical mists that surrounded the temples and roads.

"We have gotten reports of movement on the structure, indicating that there is life upon the mountain, but any scans show very strange results," The reporter went on to say. "If there is life, it's like no life planet Earth ever seen.

"Theories are flying around like crows about who or what is responsible for this. Some say it's terrorists. Some say it's an extraterrestrial form of life. But until the President addresses the matter in a matter of hours, we are all in the dark."

Percy began to get restless. The reporter was basically repeating things now, but he got the gist of it. They knew nothing. The mortals may have clear vision now, but they were still blind in one way.

Just as Percy was going to get up and find Chiron, there was movement at the base of the Empire State Building.

Troops began to fountain out of the front doors and knelt down, lifting their semi-automatics. Following them came a huge figure, at least ten feet tall, lithe and strong, practically glowing with power and grace. As he reached the doorway, the wall above the doorframe shimmered and swept away like water, making it so the figure didn't have to duck through the door. Gasps came from the crowd that stood, transfixed, at the barrier. The newscaster didn't realize what was going on at first and keep on bleating about the President's address until one of her camera crew motioned behind her. She shrieked when she saw what was happening back at the building and scurried out of shot. The camera wavered but stayed trained on the action.

The gigantic figure soon became recognizable.

"Dad!" shouted out Conner, Travis, and Chris Rodriguez, who had just walked in with Clarisse.

It was indeed Hermes. His black curly hair and sharp facial features gave him away immediately. He kept on walking past the tense soldiers, even when they started shooting. The mortal bullets bounced harmlessly off of Hermes' glowing skin. Percy almost chuckled at the image of the soldiers' faces that he had conjured up in his mind. Hermes finally stopped about a hundred yards from the screaming crowds. They were running around, trying to get away from the mysterious intruder.

"Mortals!" Hermes bellowed, his powerful voice freezing the mob in their place. The entire city was suddenly silent and still. The camera stopped wobbling and stayed steady.

"I am Hermes, god of thieves and travelers, one of the rules of this world. I carry a message from the gods. We have opened your eyes. We are your lords, your masters, and your gods. Bow before our divinity."

The camera lowered as all of New York City knelt.

"Well," Travis said in a high voice, "Daddy-poo's got himself an ego!"

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><p><strong>Was Percy OOC? Did I convey the insane city well? Did I make enough contrast between the city and suburbs? Was Hermes and the rest of the camp okay? I was actually proud of this chapter, so I would love to hear your thoughts! Review! ~Sun-Dried<strong>


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys! Sorry for the slightly late update, but school kicked back in and I got sick. Not fun. Anyway, I've haven't been writing as much, so I'm slightly behind. But this is my longest chapter ever!**

**So. This chapter was fun to write until the middle where I hit writers block. Curse you! But I really like Percy's dream. **

**Allons-y!**

~Chapter Nine~

Percy was exhausted.

It was quarter to six in the morning, and he had been up for almost twenty-four hours. It felt like longer. It was amazing how fast one could go from school, to running through a crowd of fleeing mortals, to trying to stay awake at a camp full of half-bloods by downing large amounts of blue cherry Coke (compliments of the Stoll brothers) and non-prescribed ambrosia.

Annabeth gave Percy a disapproving look as he bit into another square. The flavor of warm chocolate chip cookies flooded into his mouth, and he momentarily lost track of Chiron's address.

"Percy," Annabeth whispered, nudging him and drawing his attention back to the speaker.

Chiron was babbling on about staying calm and not acting hostile to mortals and blah bla blah bla blah, but Percy wasn't really listening. His eyes started to drift shut again and then finally closed.

When Percy became semi-conscious again, he found himself in a small, cozy cave. _Damn dreams. _These premonitions are one of the worst parts of being a demigod. You know- besides the whole, "monsters hunting you down until the day you die" thing.

The cavern was impossibly hot, as it was lit with hundreds upon hundreds of miniature blazing fires. There was no rhyme or reason to their placement; they were scattered throughout the cave on random, burning brightly but quietly. Smoke filled the air, creating a hazy look and causing Percy to cough slightly.

"Perseus Jackson," a small voice sang out from behind him.

Percy whipped around, looking for the source of the voice, and spotted a feminine figure sitting cross-legged in the center of the small fires. The girl was dressed in pure white linen with a soot-colored trim. The cloth draped around her figure and over her head like someone had laid it over her, and gleaming tendrils of fabric extended out, circling around the fires like curls of smoke. But the girl's face is what really caught Percy's attention. She was gorgeous. Her face was very fine, with elven features. Her large dark eyes were outline in thick black, as if someone applied coals to her lashes. Impossibly long dark brown hair, almost sooty black, was twisted into a braid that ran down the girl's back and finally ended in a coil in her lap. Delicate red lips curled into a small smile.

For a moment, Percy was at a loss as to who this beautiful girl was, but suddenly it dawned on him, as if it had been set alight in his brain.

"Hestia," he murmured, trying to keep the silence of the room.

Hestia's lips widened into a bigger grin, revealing white teeth reflecting the light from the fires, and patted the patch of bare ground next to her. Percy walked over and sat down lotus style, putting his hands in his lap. They stayed silent for the next few minutes.

Just when Percy was getting antsy, Hestia spoke quietly. "Do you know what these are, Perseus Jackson?" she asked, indicating the miniature fires in front of her.

"Fires?" Percy guessed, stating the obvious.

Hestia laughed, a sound like bells. "No, no. They are lives," she corrected, stretching out the last _s_.

Percy looked at her, astonished. "L-lives?" he stuttered.

Hestia nodded. "Mmhmm. And do you know who's this one is?" she questioned, scooping up the blaze right in front of her with her godly hands.

Percy sucked in his breath and his heart did a little flip. "Mine?" he asked tentatively, pointing to his chest.

Hestia indicated with her head it was so and placed Percy's fire back down.

"But… they're so small! Are our lives really that tiny?" Percy asked, shocked and saddened.

"They're not small!" Hestia exclaimed indignantly. "We're just big. If you were the size of that fire, you wouldn't think it so small, would you? It would be I that was big! But look, Perseus," Hestia waved her hand towards the fires. Percy stared at them, but could see nothing different.

"No, really- look!" Hestia cried, pushing his head down so that his nose was inches from his own fire. "See how they intertwine? See how they complete each other?"

Slowly, as Percy analyzed the blazes, it became clear that the fires were not thrown around at random. A pattern emerged. It was swirls and twists, circles and loops, all interconnected in a beautiful design. Percy also noticed that the fires were, ever so slowly, moving.

"It's beautiful," murmured Percy, still staring at the fires.

"That it is. But see this, Perseus- if I take away one single fire, the pattern is not complete. There is an empty space, and chaos erupts there. No matter how minuscule these fires seem to us, they all serve a greater purpose. Every single one is needed."

Percy smiled. "But why are they moving?" he questioned.

Hestia pursed her lips. "They're moving to a new pattern, one of self-destruction and havoc. If I was up on Olympus that day, I could have stopped this. I could have kept them in the pattern of ignorance and self-sufficiency."

"You weren't at the council? I thought it was required?" Percy asked, confused.

Hestia smirked. "Someone's got to keep the home fires burning."

Percy looked surprised. "You take care of all these lives?"

"In a way. Oh look," Hestia pointed an elegant finger towards a barely burning flame in the back of the cavern. A small petal of fire flickered before going out, leaving nothing but coals. "There goes Marilyn. It was about time too… eighty-five years her flame had been burning in my cave."

"That's… horrible," Percy whispered. "Watching someone's life being snuffed out right before you."

"Yes, sometimes it is," Hestia agreed sadly. "But know this, son of Poseidon: everyone's life fire dies out eventually. Sometimes they are violently blown out, or doused with water. Other times they simply run out of wood to burn. Maybe they were already given rotted and grub-ridden wood to start out with. But they all die. Including yours, Perseus Jackson. Take heart, however, as for every fire that sputters out in my cave, a brand new one is fanned into existence."

Both Percy and Hestia watched as a new fire flared up a few yards away from Marilyn's extinguished one.

"Helen," Hestia stated the new flame's name warmly, and Percy grinned in return.

Percy jolted out of his dream when Annabeth began nudging him again.

"Percy!" she hissed between her teeth. "The President's address is just about to come on!"

Percy sat up and glanced around camp. Almost everyone was up now, and a sleepy-looking Nico was just emerging from his cabin. Percy raised his hand in greeting and Nico muttered, "What'd I miss?"

"Oh, not much," Percy said with a grin, "just my arrival, the gods revealing themselves, and Chiron's pep talk. Why are you so tired? Or are you just pretending to be Mr. Sleepy Pants again?" he asked in a baby voice.

Nico parried with sarcasm. "Oh, haha. I would be so tired if I hadn't had to pick up your girlfriend over there," he said sourly, flicking his hand over at Annabeth.

Percy raised his eyebrows. "I was wondering how you got here so fast."

"Nico's a big boy now," Annabeth said, "he'll be picking girls up all the time soon. I'm just giving him a little practice."

"What kind of practice?" Percy asked warily.

"Percy!" Annabeth said indignantly, hitting him on the chest with the back of her hand. "You know what I mean!"

Percy faked hurt.

As the three walked up to TV room, Percy couldn't help but notice how tall Nico had gotten. He must've grown two inches in the last few months. His black skinny jeans were too short, a clear indicator that Nico had been a little too busy for clothes shopping.

The entire camp sat down around the television, most sitting on the floor, but Nico, Percy, and Annabeth snagged three moth-eaten, squishy armchairs in the back. Percy and Annabeth managed to fit into one, leaving the last one open for Thalia.

"Shh! It's coming on!" Annabeth reprimanded the younger campers on the floor.

The TV flickered to a wooden lectern with the Presidential seal on it. After a few seconds, the President walked into the shot, wearing a perfectly tailored blue suit (including the American flag pin) and a grim face. The badly disguised dark bags under his eyes only succeeded in elevating the tired look of the President.

He swallowed dry before starting his address.

"Americans, I address you today in a time of great strife and fear. The recent events involving the mountaintop over New York City seem to be merely the beginning. No group has claimed responsibility yet for the attack on the Empire State Building. However, I must urge all of you faithful and strong Americans to remain calm. We recommend you stay in your homes and only travel outside in an emergency. Thank you."

The President walked away from the podium in silence.

"That's it?" Thalia asked indignantly. "That has to be the shortest President's Address in history!"

"He thinks this is a terrorist attack?" Percy asked.

"And he didn't even talk about Dad!" shouted Conner.

"That's just because he can't explain it, and he can't control it," Annabeth reasoned. "There's no way in Hades that the President is just going to come out and say he has no power over something."

"According to some of other stations," said Malcolm over the noise as he switched channels, "Hermes has got most of the population convinced about gods. They were looking for an explanation and we gave them one. That was easy."

And with that the entire room erupted with noise as everyone started talking at once. Just when Percy thought his eardrums would burst with all the shouting, Clarisse yelled, "Everybody shut up!"

The room was suddenly silent.

"Listen!" Clarisse hissed.

Thalia was the first to gasp out in surprise. When Percy asked her what was wrong, she just shushed him. Percy strained his ears, and finally made out: _Whump whump whump whump._

"Is that…?" Percy trailed off.

"A helicopter, yeah," Clarisse agreed. "And it's getting closer!"

There was a stampede for the door. Percy managed to be the first one out, despite having been in the back of the room. He might have pushed down some first year campers to get there.

He suddenly wished he hadn't gone first.

The immediate thing Percy saw when he shot out the door was the muzzle of a huge gun pointed straight at his face.

"FREEZE!" the man hefting the gun shouted. Percy couldn't have frozen faster.

Annabeth let out a little yelp as she came barreling out of the door and slammed into Percy's back. Someone grabbed her and hauled her away from him. Suddenly the clearing was flooded with tall men in black body armor, spilling out from the woods and from behind the cabins.

"Let her go!" Percy bellowed at the man holding Annabeth, to which the man pointing the gun at him told him to shut up. She struggled to get away, but the man's grip was too strong. She suddenly lifted her foot and kicked backward, like a horse, nailing the man in the crouch. Percy could help wince and feel a little sorry for the man. He doubled over, groaning, and released her. But there were two more in his place to grab her.

Two men held onto Percy by the arms and dragged him away from the Big House as forces stormed the building. Screaming started on the inside. The black-clad men began dragging out each and every one of the campers. First came most of the year one campers, shocked and numb. Then came the rest of camp, kicking and shouting Greek profanities. Thalia was probably the worst at this, but Conner and Travis were a close second. You rarely saw the brothers angry, but when they are, it isn't pretty. Plus, they were very creative in their expletives.

Clarisse was the last to be dragged out. There were five guards trying to keep her still, and none really succeeding.

The sound of hooves came from inside the house, followed by the sound of gunshots.

"Hey!" Percy shouted. "Leave Chiron alone!"

Chiron came cantering out the door, seemingly unharmed, followed by six gunmen. More aimed at him as he came to a stop.

Chiron started talking really fast. "I am deeply sorry for the rash behavior of my kin, but I am different from them."

"Oh, shut up," said one of the gunman, and shot.

The bang reverberated around the camp, and Percy shut his eyes in reflex. All he heard in the wake of the gunshot were gasps of surprise from the soldiers. Upon opening his eyes, Percy saw a very annoyed Chiron and a small bullet lying in the grass.

"Now that was completely unnecessary."

The armored man was so shocked that all he managed to get out was, "…Sorry?"

A loud baying sounded from somewhere behind the cabins, and Mrs. O'Leary bounded out, racing towards the demigods. The soldiers who were not restraining kids raised their guns. The harsh clatter of machine gun fire filled the air and Mrs. O'Leary shielded away, but remained uninjured. The soldiers were in shock, and kept firing, continuous rounds emptying into the grass.

Percy decided to take advantage of the distracted soldiers. He starched out his mind to the creek, and when that wasn't enough, the ocean. He willed the water to become solid, take form. He pushed to molecules together, reducing the space between them.

He glanced at Annabeth, who was looking at him with worried interest. With his eyes, Percy told her to get ready. She tensed.

_NOW!_ Percy pushed with his mind, and the water came rushing forward. At first, the soldiers didn't even realize what was happening, as they were too focused on the advancing Mrs. O'Leary. But then one of them screamed in terror, and they all looked around wildly for the new threat.

Water practically flooded towards them, but not in its liquid form. The weak morning sun shone through the water soldiers as they grabbed hold of the gunmen. The campers struggled free of their now handicapped captors and gaped at their new allies.

The water from the creek and ocean had formed figures. They were of human shape, but their faces were blank. Some had seaweed hanging off of them. The water they were made out of seemed to circulate in their limbs, torso, and head. Their bodies seemed solid, as they held onto the soldiers and didn't let go.

Percy gritted his teeth, trying to keep his stunt going. "I bet even you couldn't do that, Annabeth."

Annabeth looked at him with surprise. "I have to admit it, Seaweed Brian. That is pretty impressive."

Percy grinned, as the rest of the camp started to give nervous giggles, which then escalated in to full-scale laughs of relief.

Percy, Annabeth, and Chiron walked up to one of the soldiers, who was struggling against his rather wet restrainer.

"How did you know we were here?" Chiron asked roughly.

"I'm not going to tell you anything!" the soldier spat.

Percy intervened. "What's your name?"

The soldier gave in reluctantly. "Adam. What's it to you?"

Percy gave him his nastiest smile. "Because, Adam, I like to know the name of the person who I am going to choke to death before I proceed."

Percy willed the ocean soldier to release a little of its water. The trail of liquid meandered its way lazily up to Adam's mouth and began to trickle in slightly, forcing its way through chapped lips.

Annabeth gave Percy a sharp horrified look and placed a gentle hand on his arm.

"Okay, okay!" Adam cried out, terrified. "We knew where you were through satellite images! Just let me go, okay?" he pleaded.

Annabeth swore.

Percy didn't stop the advance of water, letting it accumulate in front of his mouth, suffocating him.

Annabeth tightened her grip, trying to pull on his arm to get his attention away from Adam.

Percy ignored her.

He looked up. Adam's eyes were wide with terror, the brightest blue. _Oh gods. _Percy's mind reeled, and he let go of the water, sending it back to the water soldier. _He has blue eyes._ And suddenly Adam had an identity: he had blue eyes. He wasn't just a thing that had information anymore, he was a person. A real person. _He_ _had blue eyes. And brown hair. And little wrinkles on his forehead._

Percy glanced at Annabeth. She had turned her attention back to Adam, but kept stealing worried glances over at Percy, as if scared he might try to hurt someone again.

"That's what we get for having no electronics," he muttered, trying to shake off the extreme guilt that was spreading over him.

"But how did you get into camp?" asked Annabeth.

"We walked in…" Adam said, confused. "All of you were in that house."

"But that must mean that the mortals can get through the barriers now!" Annabeth said to Chiron.

"I suppose that's because of the absent mists." Chiron reasoned. "But what if"—

BANG! Percy's head whipped around at the gunshot, following the scream of pain that echoed through the suddenly silent camp.

**And that's it! Again, I haven't read the books in a little while, so Hestia was probably super OOC. Sorry.**

**The thing with Adam's blue eyes was an idea in the middle of the night that I just had to write down. I liked the concept, but I don't know if I wrote it well. If you didn't get it, the blue eyes gave Adam an identity, and with it he became an actual person. Percy was appalled with what he was doing to a person. This may seem a little OOC, but it will be addressed later.**

**Yuuuummm... that's about it! Until next time! ~Sun-Dried**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey, Everybody! Sorry I'm late... I don't really have an excuse. These last next few chapters are causing trouble. So... this is ****a slightly shorter chapter. These stupid middle chapters are always the hardest! I must've rewritten the entire chapter at least three times...argh, it was hard. Enough of my whining- on to the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJATO.**

~Chapter Ten~

"Get off me, you stupid son of a Titan!" Annabeth's words were lost in the mud. Her face was pressed into the ground so hard she thought her cheekbones would break, but that didn't stop her from shouting muffled profanities at the soldier on her back.

After the gunshot, Percy had lost his concentration and the water soldiers dissolved, mixing with the dry dirt in the campground to make mud. The soldiers' rigorous training kicked in, and they wasted no time in grabbing all of the demigods again, knocking out that ones that were causing too many problems. Percy lay unconscious next to her with another soldier's knee in the small of his back.

After everyone was subdued and thoroughly covered in mud, the soldiers began to drag them up the hill, away from the Big House and towards the road. Annabeth shivered as cold mud slithered in between her stomach and the waistband of her jean, running down and legs and into her underwear. Some got into her mouth when she was shouting curses. It was salty, presumably from the ocean water that had mixed it.

Annabeth picked her head up off the ground slightly, and looked ahead. The ground mostly obstructed her view, as they were now being pulled downhill, but she managed to glimpse a large black semi parked on the side of the small road leading by camp.

The back of the semi was pulled open, and the demigods were all thrown in, but not before they were all handcuffed and jostled around. Apparently the soldiers hadn't appreciated being held captive by water people.

Annabeth's head rang as it hit the bottom of the truck, and then she promptly had her breath knock out of her with a great "Oof!" when Malcolm landed on top of her.

"Oh, sorry Annabeth!" he whispered. Annabeth gasped when she saw his face. His lower lip was split and swollen, bulging out from the side of his face and causing his speech to alter. His nose was bloody, there was a thin cut running up one check, and a black eye was beginning to form. Malcolm had not gone without a fight.

"Quiet, you!" said one of the soaked soldiers, who then kicked the blonde boy in the head. Annabeth reached over to him, but then realized he was unconscious. She dragged her self a little ways into the truck, away from the hectic entryway. She saw Percy being thrown in and crawled over. Though her handcuff made it difficult, she grabbed him under one shoulder and used her muddy legs to drag them both to the back of the semi.

The doors slammed shut, leaving the campers in darkness.

* * *

><p>"Annabeth?" said a whispered voice.<p>

Annabeth looked down to Percy's face in her lap. His eyes had just opened, about two hours after he was first knocked out.

"Percy! You're awake!" Annabeth said, keeping her voice soft.

Percy sat up and looked around the truck, which was rumbling along at what felt like a swift pace. The storage area was lit some now, thanks to the combined efforts of the Hecate and Apollo cabins. Everything seemed to give off a slight glow, a strange combination of sunlight and more of a ghost-light, managing to illuminate the truck just enough to see what they were doing.

Some bodies were still lying around unconscious. Annabeth's eyes caught Clarisse's face smushed up to the bottom of the truck, inches away from Malcolm's.

Off in the corner, Will Solace and a few other kids from the Apollo cabin were checking everyone for injures. The unconscious Malcolm had some bits of t-shirt wrapped on his face, covering the cut he had sustained. Nico had an entire camp shirt wrapped around his leg.

"Gods, Nico! What happened?" Percy asked him.

Nico looked a little put off. "Idiot soldier shot me."

"Well," Annabeth said, grinning slightly, "that wasn't exactly what happened. According to Katie, who happened to be nearby, Nico was _taunting _one of the military soldiers. With his sword," she looked pointedly at Percy, who smirked, "and so, it was only a matter of time before said trapped soldier manages to reach his gun and fire it."

Percy laughed quietly, even though it wasn't really funny.

"Be thankful it was just your leg, Nico," Percy teased, only half joking, "and not your face."

Nico muttered something inaudible.

Turning towards Annabeth again, Percy knitted his brow together and said in a surprised voice, "We're in the city. Or at least somewhere around there."

"How'd you know?" Annabeth asked curiously. "We're been driving for hours. And it's quiet outside."

Sure enough, the only sounds that could be heard were the trucks rumbling and the camper's soft whispers.

"The ocean…" Percy almost whispered in concentration, "is about six miles that way, south." He pointed. "Then what seems to be a river is about the same distance north of us," his arm swiveled around to point in the other direction, accidentally hitting the side of the semi, "and Long Island Sound is more that way." He moved his finger east. "So, it only makes sense that we're somewhere close to the city."

Thalia stalked over (with some difficulty due to her handcuffs) and remarked, "Well, Percy, you're not as much of a kelp head as everybody thought! Perseus Jackson: The Great Aqua-Freak!" Thalia swept her handcuffed hands through the air, as if she could invision the circus sign in the dark truck.

"Yeah," Nico said, "that was a pretty cool trick you did with the watery-soldiery… thingies." He waved his linked hands around, trying to mime his meaning.

Nico's words brought up bad feelings for Annabeth.

"What was that about?" she snapped, troubled and slightly scared.

"What was what about?" Percy asked, trying to hide his guilty eyes by picking at his handcuffs.

"You know- the way you tortured that soldier- Adam- for information."

Thalia and Nico looked at Percy in surprise while he forced himself not to wince at the word "torture".

Percy scoffed, trying to disguise his terror of himself. "I wasn't actually going to do it, Annabeth."

She frowned and raised her voice a little. "It doesn't make it right."

"I was just protecting the camp," Percy scowled, now truly annoyed. "And you."

"Well, I don't need or want protecting!" Annabeth hissed. By now the campers had fallen silent and were all looking at them.

"I will protect the things I love, whether they want it or not!" Percy turned away from her, looking pointedly at the metal wall of the truck.

"You know," Annabeth whispered, so just Percy could hear it. "Sometimes I think Athena was right about you."

This caused Percy to turn back. "And just what did she say about me?"

THe truck hit a bump in the road, sending all of the campers flying. Their bound hands prevented them from catching themselves, so they all landed rather painfully on the floor.

"Your fatal flaw, Per- Ow!" Annabeth screamed even through the bump. "Athena knew it wouldn't turn out well! You would sacrifice anything for those you love, but to what length? Even when others are hurt in the process?"

"Well, it seems to have done us pretty well so far!" Percy retorted, and turned away again.

"Oh, come on, Percy! You're acting like a toddler!" She said exasperated and reached for his shoulder to pull him back around.

'Well, you're acting like a know-it-all!" Percy nearly shouted.

"Fine!" Annabeth shouted back, and marched over to Thalia, who had scooted a few yards after from the shouting pair.

"Gosh, you're boyfriend's in a little bit of a funk! Why's he so grumpy?" she murmured to Annabeth.

Annabeth winced involuntarily when Thalia said, "boyfriend". It wasn't that she didn't think of Percy romantically, but "boyfriend" was such a vain term—so superficial and meaningless. Percy was… Percy. He was _her_ Percy, and nothing less. Anybody could have a boyfriend, but only she could have her Percy.

Annabeth began regretting the words she had said to him. But her pride would never allow her to apologize. Plus he was being an ass. What he had done before to Adam had been so unlike him, so ruthless. She hadn't loved him at that moment, and it scared her.

Annabeth thoughts were stilled when the truck finally rolled to a stop, and the back doors swung open, the bright light blinding her after the darkness of the truck. Someone grabbed her and shoved a scratchy burlap bag over her head, nearly ripping some of her blonde curls from her scalp.

"HEY!"

Percy cried out in shock and she screamed for him. She didn't want to go quietly. She yelled at her attackers, cursing in both English and Ancient Greek. She kicked and flailed. She knew she wasn't getting away, but she was not going to make it easy for them.

One of the men yelled something towards her. Something hard collided with her covered head, and the world faded away.

**Yay! I'm finally done with that! Annabeth and Percy's fight was so hard to write! Percy was OOC, then Annabeth was OOC, and now I think they're both OOC, but it was the best I could do... **

**So, one thing I'm trying to do for this fic is to get all the minor characters in- but I don't remember all of them! Don't worry- I have plans for Grover and most of the others *rubbs hands together and cackles evilly*, but if you could maybe remind me who some of them are in a review, that'd be great! **

**Please, please, please REVIEW! I happen to know where the button is, so so should you! You have no excuse! ~Sun-Dried**


	11. Chapter 11

**I'm really sorry guys! I'm late. I know. ... Less than two weeks- that's pretty good still, right? Mid-terms hit me hard, and writing was not exactly at the top of my to-do list. But I promise that you'll be seeing quite a few updates this week. First, because I owe it you guys for your reviews. Secondly, because Christmas holidays have started and I'll hopefully be able to write a lot. And thirdly, I actually have schedule for this story, and I'm running behind. **

**So, after that rather boring A/N, onto the story!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJATO.**

~Chapter Eleven~

"It'll just take time," Athena said to the counsel.

The gods had gathered yet again, eager for explanations regarding the situation in the mortal world. This was the first gathering that has taken place outside of the winter and summer solstice since the end of the Titan War, less than half a year ago.

"It took a while for mortals to stop believing in us, so it is obvious that it will take time for them to start believing in us again. We just have to wait out the rough patches."

"Rough patches?" Artemis nearly screamed, half out of her throne in rage. "You call this a rough patch? My head huntress has been _kidnapped_!"

"Calm down, Artemis!" Zeus said, almost bored. "Athena's right, we'll just have to wait and see."

"I told you this was a bad idea," Poseidon muttered into his hands. He was sitting on his holding his head with his hands, one elbow resting on the fishing rod holder attached to one of the arm rests.

"Maybe we could make another announcement," Hermes asked quietly. "Would that calm them down at all?"

"Probably not," Ares reasoned, which was unusual for him. "They're terrified of us, and they would see another show of our power as intimidating."

"We could always make our children liaisons between the mortals and ourselves. They are less intimidating than we, but still have the authority to speak for us," Athena consulted with Ares.

"Well, if you haven't noticed, _Niece_," Poseidon said bitterly, lifting his head from his hands and glaring at her, "our children are locked up in a government facility down in the city. They're hardly in the position to play a game of telephone."

"Don't worry, they'll get themselves out. They've been through worse before," Dionysus interjected, unconcerned.

"Well, I wish the mortals would hurry up and realize that we're not the enemy here! Those spotlights are becoming really annoying," Aphrodite said.

Zeus sighed and dismissed the gods, some disappearing on the spot, others staying to talk. Aphrodite flounced off with Ares, her shimmering rode trailing out behind her like a multicolored wedding train. Most of the remaining gods trailed out behind them, like inattentive bridesmaids and groomsmen, chattering quietly amongst themselves about the meeting.

Athena stood silent in the center of the throne room, staring into the hearth fire, its flames flickering merrily. She pursed her lips, wondering how fire could remain cheerful even when nothing else was.

"Athena!" a voice called from behind her. She turned to see Zeus, looking considerably younger than he had appeared on the winter solstice, striding towards her.

"Yes, Father?" she said, straightening her plain white robes.

He looked like he wanted to say something important, but pushed it off. "Wow, these meetings get crazier and crazier every millennia, don't they?" He chuckled nervously, trying to be casual. He failed miserably. "I feel like I'm becoming more of a referee to a wrestling match rather than the Lord of the Sky."

"Did you expect anything less?" Athena asked, curling up the ends of her lips, playing along.

Zeus looked unsure for a moment, and then asked, "You are sure about this, right? About the waiting it out?"

She swallowed dry. "Yes… Of course!" she said in a slightly more cheerful tone. "The worst of it is almost over." Looking at his face, she quickly added on, "I promise."

"You better be right; we can't afford anymore mistakes, especially since we're still recovering from the last war. The last thing we need is another one."

Athena gave a curt nod and they went their separate ways. She headed back to her own quarters, frantically trying ignore the seed of doubt slowly digging its roots into her heart.

**Kinda short... But something should be up either tomorrow or the day after. Hopefully. Otherwise I'd be really behind. Please review!**

** ~Sun-Dried**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey Guys! I have a Christmas present for you... this isn't it. I'm still working on it (because I was lazy earlier) and I just changed over to a new OS (Lion) so my Microsoft Office stuff needs to be updated and it's cause some troubles. I really hope it won't be late. This is a nice long Percy chapter! More of a filler, really. It has a lot of Percy pining for Annabeth. Hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJATO.**

~Chapter Twelve~

Percy opened his eyes, and immediately wished he hadn't. His head pounded with the mother of all headaches and his tongue felt swollen and dry. Light shown in his sensitive eyes, pain blossoming behind them and floating back into his brain. He blinked a few times before comprehending what he was looking at.

The long halogen lights above him looked like they had been taken from an insane asylum, but the room they lit up was even less inviting than a mental hospital. The walls were whitewashed and lacked windows or any other features. One plain metal door stood at one end of the room, but in between Percy and the door was Camp Half Blood. The demigods were still handcuffed, and it looked as if the soldiers had taken their weapons. Percy quickly felt his pocket with his elbow. To his relief, Riptide was still there. Either the soldiers didn't think a pen was all that dangerous, or Riptide had just appeared back in his pocket when they had taken it.

Annabeth was off standing in one corner with Katie and Malcolm, discussing something in harsh whispers. Percy forced himself to not think about their most recent fight.

Percy sat up, his head spinning. He took a deep breath before standing up. He groaned—it felt as if he had been drawn and quartered and then sewn back up again. Wincing, he walked gingerly over to Annabeth and the others.

"Oh! Percy, you're awake!" Katie said, the first to see him.

"Yeah," he said, grinning slightly, "but I kinda wished I wasn't."

"Nonsense!" cried a familiar voice from behind him.

Katie rolled her eyes as Travis and Conner scooted into the circle on either side of her.

"We are having such a lovely time here," Conner said very properly in a British accent, picking up where is brother left off.

"Can't imagine why you wouldn't want to join the party, Percy," Travis bounced back, imitating Conner's voice.

"I mean, who doesn't love being beaten up, covered in mud, knocked out, starved, and frozen to death?" Conner finished.

The entire group cracked a smile (except for Katie, of course), and chuckled. Now that the brothers mentioned it, Percy noticed that it was really cold in the room, as if there was no heating, and his middle felt like a black hole had developed and swallowed his stomach.

"So," Annabeth said, after everyone had had their laugh, "we were just discussing plans to get out of here. Be careful- there're probably bugs everywhere."

Everyone looked around, trying to find the small listening devices.

"I think I'm going to leave this one to you and Malcolm, Annabeth," Percy said, putting up his hands up in a peaceful gesture, "You're much better at battle plans than I am. I think that this is the perfect opportunity for me to catch up on some well-deserve rest."

He started backing away, still facing them, then turned and ran. He didn't get far though, as Annabeth's finger caught in the neckline of his camp shirt and pulled him back.

"Oh, no you don't," she said, spinning him back around to face her. "That is so like you, Percy- sneaking off to sleep at every opportunity!" She gave him a look.

"And besides, you've been unconscious for the last few hours!" Katie helpfully added.

"That's not the same as sleeping!" Percy whined, but Annabeth cut him off by putting her hand to his mouth. Percy quickly began to lick her hand, tasting mud and sweat, but Annabeth merely gave him a look that clearly said, "you think that that old trick will work on me? I really don't care about you licking my hand after kissing you, you little immature whelp." It scared Percy that he could interpret her glares so well.

"So!" Annabeth continued, keeping Percy's mouth muffled. "About those plans—I think that if we put the appropriate amount of weight on a certain weak spot in that door, we may be able to break out."

"But what happens if we do get through the door? How do we get out of here?" Malcolm asked.

Annabeth looked sheepish for a moment before replying, "I haven't quite worked that out yet…"

Conner butted in. "Well, who has weapons?"

Katie gave him an annoyed look, as if he didn't have permission to talk, before snapping, "Nobody! The soldiers took them away, remember?"

Percy ripped Annabeth's hand from his face. "Actually, I have Riptide with me," he said, drawing the pen from his pocket.

"Well that's great Percy," Annabeth said, refusing to look at him, "but celestial bronze can't hurt mortals!"

"We could just threaten them…" Percy said, pouting, then mentally recoiling from himself when he realized what he said.

Annabeth looked like she had eaten too many Sour Patch Kids at once. "No, we'll have to think of something else. What if"-

Annabeth was cut off by loud banging noises coming from the door. It sounded like it was being unlocked. The few half-bloods near the doors backed away until they joined the rest of the demigods in the rear of the room, warily eying the entrance.

The room was silent except for the soft sounds of breathing when the door finally swung open.

And in came… Chiron.

"Chiron?" Annabeth asked, stepping forward. "What's going on?"

About ten soldiers filed in behind him, but their guns were lax in their hands, although every so often their hands would twitch, as if itching to bring the guns up and fire. Percy shot a quizzical glance at Chiron, but the centaur looked as calm as one could in such a circumstance.

Chiron cleared his throat with a cough before speaking. "The gods have decided that you, their children, are to become their liaisons to mortals. These… _brave_ gentlemen," he indicated the soldiers beside him, "have agreed to listen our story. It is their judgment that decided whether or not you are let out of here."

Chiron gave a look of what only could be described as extreme annoyance at the

soldiers.

The demigods were in shocked silent.

"B-but… Chiron…" Annabeth managed to stutter out.

"Yeah, we may let you out, if you come up with a good enough story," one of the soldiers barked.

"So you better start talking!" another added.

Percy spared a glance at Annabeth. There was a red flush spreading across her cheeks, and her eyes conveyed total fury.

"We're not going to tell you anything!" She shouted at the soldiers. In their defense, braver men than they had trembled at Annabeth's anger.

"You have to tell them what they _want_, Annabeth," Chiron said with a wink.

Understanding dawned on her face, and her anger dissolved minutely. Percy stared, confused.

"Of course, I've already told them what they need to know," Chiron said cryptically, "you just need to verify it. Understandingly, mortals are not very trusting of centaurs at the moment."

Percy was flooded with understanding. All Chiron needed them to do was agree with what he had already said.

The soldiers started volleying off questions like: Are your parent's really gods? Do you have godly powers? Why were there pegasi in stables in your camp? What other sorts of mythological creatures are still alive? How do we kill them?

The campers (mostly Annabeth) answered these questions with as little helpful information as possible, but even she faltered on the last one. Annabeth stole a glance at Chiron. If they answered this, it could revel the demigod's own vulnerabilities. Chiron nodded almost unnoticeably, signaling her to go on.

Annabeth swallowed collecting her words and said, "The ancient monsters can only be hurt by our blades." She drew her knife. "Celestial bronze," she explained.

The soldiers look nervous. Percy realized that they suddenly had the upper hand. The campers were the only ones who had weapons that could kill the threat of monsters.

At once, the soldiers stood erect, placed in a perfect line. At a barked command from the squad leader, they marched out in an orderly fashion. Their first grade teacher would have been proud.

Chiron stayed behind.

Annabeth ran up to him, with Percy nearly steeping on her heels. The rest of camp flooded around him, all shouting.

"Chiron-?" Annabeth yelled.

"But why-?" Percy was right behind her.

"What-?" Malcolm asked.

"Will you please-?" Katie pleaded.

"Shut up," Thalia muttered to everyone.

"SILENCE!" Chiron thundered over everyone. "The gods need us, so we have to do what we can to get out of here. I'm not really sure what we'll do yet, but please stay calm until we figure it out. Councilors, please gather and meet me over there." He pointed to one corner.

Percy looked over at Annabeth. She was furiously pulled her hair back into a ponytail. Every time she finished, she took it down and redid it, making it tighter and tighter. She saw him looking at her, and looked away, her lips pursed. After tying up her hair one last time, she turned back to him and opened her mouth, like she wanted to say something, but she just shut her mouth and whipped away.

Percy sighed. It looked like Annabeth hadn't forgiven him yet.

The head councilors headed over to the corner as instructed and began talking about escape plans.

"We could always try the sick prisoner trick…" Travis started, but then trailed away when everybody scoffed at the idea.

Percy drifted off, thinking about his and Annabeth's fight. They had both reacted badly. But he didn't want to admit to her that he hadn't been in control when he had forced the information out of Adam. She had been right about his fatal flaw. All he had felt in that moment was the need to protect his friends. Adam had been in the way, so he got rid of him.

The feelings from the last Titan War flooded into his brain- he had lost so many friends. Beckendorf… Selina… Michael Yew. He didn't want that to happen again. He didn't want to lose anyone else. Each death was a personal failure- he hadn't done enough to save them. He would do anything to prevent that from ever happening again.

Even if it meant hurting others? Innocents? Percy shuddered at the thought.

Thalia interrupted his thoughts. "Hey, Percy… Percy!"

"Yeah! What?"

"I have an idea. You have any Drachmas?"

Percy uncapped Riptide. A gleaming sword sprung from the simple ballpoint, glinting the harsh light from the strip lights overhead into his eyes. Percy touched the capped to the razor sharp tip and the sword shrank back. He twisted it back off again.

Cap on.

Cap off.

On.

Off.

After five minutes of capping and un-capping the pen/sword, he left the cap off, dropping the plastic end onto the dirty white linoleum. Shifting the bronze blade, Percy looked at his reflection.

A young man stared back at him, his black hair hanging in his sea-green eyes. Percy quickly pushed the tangles away, and the boy in the blade mirrored him. The boy's entire face was covered in dried mud, some flaking off around his hairline and eyebrows. The boy was wearing a mud-soaked orange shirt and faded jeans with one leg almost completely torn off. Sitting in a corner with his knees tucked up to his chest, the black-haired boy seemed to be waiting for something.

Percy looked away from his sword. Thalia was pacing the length of the room, muttering to herself under her breath. Her bow was swung across her back. Didn't the guards take all the weapons away? Percy blinked. The bow was gone. Blink. Back again.

Finally looking away from Thalia's anxious pacing and her confusing weaponry, Percy saw Nico, who was sitting in the opposite corner from him, his injured leg lying straight with his healthy leg was bent underneath it. The son of Hades seemed to doze off for a moment before jerking awake again.

Percy couldn't blame Nico for his exhaustion. It had been around five or six hours since the soldiers first came to their "cell". The men had come once more to ask the demigods more questions, like "Why are there three-thousand-year-old weapons in you armory?" or "How does your climbing wall have lava on it?" You know, dumb questions like that.

Percy counted up the hours. It must be around three in the afternoon the day after the mists disappeared. He had been up for well over twenty-four hours. No wonder the Stolls had fallen asleep. They were leaning against each other at the other end of the room, a small trail of drool dribbling out of Conner's mouth and he and Travis snored softly.

A lone girl sat in the farthest corner from Percy. Annabeth, tracing invisible building designs on cold floor. Percy couldn't help but admire her blonde curls. They were the first thing he had noticed when he had first seen her, slipping out of consciousness on the Big House porch, and they were the first thing he noticed now. Her ponytail had half come out, her hair, sticky with mud and blood, draping into her face. Percy wanted to run over to her, to pick her up, to make her laugh, to run his hands through those filthy blonde tangles. He wanted to be her friend. Because that was what he was, a friend. Before being her boyfriend or lover or anything like that, he was a friend. A friend was what they both needed right now.

Annabeth looked up and saw him staring. They both looked away.

Thalia looked up from her mutterings, her eyes flicking to the door. Trusting her hunting instincts, Percy stood up, readying himself for another encounter with the soldiers.

The door flew open, and the campers staggered away. The first thing that emerged from the steel door was a shining bronze blade, followed by a shaggy head.

Percy stared.

"Grover?"

**Well, that took forever to write! I hope you liked it and don't forget to review! The button is south of here! **

**~Sun-Dried**


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